Mr Venti Cappuccino With Extra Cream
by DearMyFriend
Summary: Natalia is a young Barista who pines after a man she has nicknamed, "Mr. Venti Cappuccino With Extra Cream". Unable to even work up the courage to have a conversation with him, what happens when he begins to show interest? Ruki from GazettE and Origional
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

"**Mr. Venti Cappuccino With Extra Cream" **

I see him everyday. He comes into my shop every morning except for Sundays and orders a venti cappuccino with extra cream at exactly seven AM. He always wears huge ornate sunglasses which on any other straight man would look ridiculous, but somehow makes him look even more cute than he already is. His style is incredible. If its not ten rings on each finger or leopard print jackets, its red leather pants and crazy dreadlock hair. I see him everyday.

And yet I still haven't asked him his name.

This morning I took an extra twenty minutes getting ready. I curled my hair into tight spirals and slopped it on top of my head loosely, making sure that some curls came loose around my face strategically. I put on my make up expertly, made sure that my eyes were smoky and my cheeks rosy. I even went as far as to wear my dangling pendant just above my cleavage for Gods sakes! There were plenty of men who gave me attention, but I wasn't interested in them. I wanted Venti Cappuccino With Extra Cream to look at me like that. I wanted him to tell me that I looked ravishing this morning. I wanted him to notice me.

I sat in my car an extra fifteen minutes. The clock reminds me that I had to open ten minutes ago, but I feel so nervous and self conscious I cant seem to make my legs respond. I lower my visor and stare into my own reflection. Blue eyes stare back at me, eyes that I'm not so sure that I recognize. Fiery red hair glistens in the morning sunrise and nearly blinds me. Who is this girl? Was this me?

Anger. I slap my visor back up against the ceiling where it belongs and I nearly kick my rickety rusted door off its hinges. The cold December air chills me straight to the bone and I groan, my breath leaving my mouth in an exaggerated white cloud. My sneakers slide in the slushy snow and I throw my arms out wide to steady myself. Damn this weather, and damn Venti Cappuccino With Extra Cream for making me so self conscious!

The door of the tiny coffee shop mocks me, the reflection of the girl I think I may know wobbling closer to meet me. I grumble as I fish around in my pockets for the keys. Chap stick, a pen, a few hair elastics… where the hell were my keys? My heart beat heavily in my ears, panic creeping its way up my spine and spreading a cold dread throughout my stomach. If I had to go home to get my keys, I would be in huge trouble for sure! I was late enough opening as it was!

"Are you looking for these?"

The voice is smooth, husky, created for singing and each word carried a lilting quality that promised me that he did. I knew that voice. I knew it so well, it was what woke me up at seven in the morning. I looked down at my wristwatch and inwardly groaned. Seven AM, on the dot. I looked over my shoulder and nearly melted. Venti Cappuccino With Extra Cream held my embarrassingly girly keychain in his cream colored palm, extended patiently for me to take it from him. His eyes were the strangest color, almost an amber and seemed like they could consume you entirely. His skin was smooth alabaster, lips carved for kissing, jaw strong and masculine, throat… I blinked.

"Uhm, thank you." I whispered as I reached out with a shaky hand and retrieved my keys from him.

He smiled.

I melted.

He shoved his hands in his pockets, cheeks flush from the cold.

I jammed the key into the lock and shoved the door open as quickly as I could.

We both remained silent.

My face felt like it had been dipped in lava. I hoped to high Heaven as I flipped on light switch after light switch that he wouldn't notice. He walked behind me slowly as I went about my opening process, one hand reaching up to pull at the collar of his black coat and loosen his leopard print scarf. His hair had been tied off in the back with his own dreadlock I noticed as I shuffled around the store counter and threw my coat into the kitchen, his bangs straightened to a silky smoothness I hadn't thought humanly possible. Could he get any more gorgeous?

He smiled again, his right brow twitching upwards just slightly as our eyes met. I about-faced on my heel, heart hammering beneath my ribs so loudly I was almost positive he could hear it from where he stood, my cheeks so red he could mistake it for my hair. What was with that smile? He had never smiled at me before like that!

I grabbed a venti cup and turned on the cappuccino machine, keeping my back to him as I filled it and waited for it to brew. The silence between us dragged on for what seemed like days, he sniffled periodically but other than that I couldn't bring myself to muster the courage that speaking with him required. Should I turn on some music? Music would definitely make this a tad bit less uncomfortable.

I turned to head into the backroom, placing the cup on the edge of the counter to fill later when I was caught in that beautiful gaze once again. Venti Cappuccino With Extra Cream was leaning against my counter with his perfect face resting between his long fingered hands. His lips curled ever so slightly at the edges, eyes dreamy beneath long dark lashes. Oh god, he didn't even have to move and he could kill me. How sad was I?

"Music." I murmured, which I'm nearly positive was inaudible to humans, and unsteadily inched my way towards the employee doorway.

"Music?" He had heard me. "What kind of music do you like?"

Oh, I like all kinds of music. I really enjoy myself rock music, and I knew that I should be telling him all this information instead of repeating it inside my head like some kind of bag lady! Okay, take a deep breath!

I inhaled loudly.

Gather your courage!

I closed my eyes briefly.

Now talk to him!

I opened my mouth to speak, "Music."

Embarrassment had me yet again in its ugly claws and I sped to the door now within my reach and opened it quickly and ducked inside. My breath came in low quick gasps. This was ridiculous. I shouldn't be acting this way! I had never had this issue before, it had always been normal when he came in to get his usual, so why now? Helena wasn't working today… and JoAnne had today off… maybe it was the fact that it was just the two of us, alone in this god forsaken hell hole I call my job. It felt nearly intimate, just the two of us. You saw this kind of things in movies or… or in bad fan fictions!

The back room was a mess. Decorations from last Christmas still secured with crazy glue to the ceiling dancing in the heat blasting through the vents. I had been meaning to climb up there and tear them down, but the thought of climbing up on the ladder to actually do it scared the living hell out of me. If there was one thing scarier than talking to Venti Cappuccino With Extra Cream, it was heights. The mere thought made me shudder and I flipped on the radio then the speakers. The usual jams blasted through the store, songs I had already heard eight million times over the last few months, songs I should be sick of already but found myself humming anyway.

Task completed.

Shite. That meant it was time to go back out to face him. I steeled myself and shucked off the heavy fur lined sweater I had so tactically worn under my heavy plaid petticoat. The heat in the store was pleasant, so leaving my arms bare wasn't as terrible as I would have thought it would be. I grabbed my green apron from the coat hanger beside the door and pushed it open with my lower back as I threw it over my head and tied it off behind me expertly.

Mr. Venti Cappuccino With Extra Cream was still at the counter, face still framed by his hands, eyes still watching me, but the music in the back ground was enough to ease the violent butterflies in my stomach to a gentle flutter that left me breathless. I managed a smile, though it could have passed for a wince instead and grabbed his cup from the counter where I had left it. The machine beeped. Wow, even for me that was some good damn timing!

I placed the cup under the spout and pushed the red button to begin filling it a tad harder than was necessary. Should I look over my shoulder? Would that just seem weird to do that? No normal person finds that kind of thing sexy. Its creepy, right?

I glance over my shoulder.

He was still smiling.

If I could have died, I would have. I wanted to turn away, pretend to be fussing with the machine but for some reason my body refusing to comply with my minds demands, and I remained staring at him like some crazed gaping mouthed fish.

"Natalia," He began, glancing at my chest.

How rude! I was about to really find my courage when I realized that my name tag was pinned just there. I managed to look away, inwardly scolding myself.

"I never noticed that that was your name." He finished.

I really liked the way he said it. He had a sort of accent, Japanese, perhaps? He was Asian, and Asian men were kind of like a guilty pleasure. Though, like Venti Cappuccino With Extra Cream, they tended to have more feminine features they also had a masculinity intertwined with it. It was quite alluring.

"Oh?" Was all I could managed out in a half-way normal squeak.

"Mm."

The machine screeched to a halt and I pulled the cup away, contents nearly slopping over the sides. The small bell above the door chimed out a warning that a customer had entered the store and the cream container in my hands slipped. I yelped, a pathetic sound even to my own ears and I recovered even less gracefully. It wasn't only the cream that disobeyed me, it was the cinnamon shaker, which clumped and sank to the bottom of the cup, it was the cap, which refused to fit properly; or maybe it was just my hands, shaking so violently from embarrassment I couldn't even function. God. I must really look the fool.

I slid the cappuccino towards him as I stepped over to the register, quickly looking up to see whom had been the one to intrude on my private meeting. My heart dropped as Mr. This Isn't Hot Enough stepped into line and tapped his toe impatiently. Of all the shite luck…

"T-That'll be three dollars and--"

"Does he upset you?" Venti Cappuccino With Extra Cream asked without looking over his shoulder.

I swallowed the lump in my throat. Yes the intolerable man bothered me! He _lived _to make my job as difficult and as time consuming as humanly possible… but I wasn't about to say that aloud. I opened my mouth to speak, but he cut me off.

"Because I can take care of that for you, if you would like."

It was the single most thoughtful thing that anyone in this place, customer or employee, had ever done for me. Being hassled by customers was second nature in this industry, you took it with a smile and hoped that they took their coffee, drank it, and would come back the next morning for the same exact thing. I couldn't stop the blush that rushed to my face and shook my head feebly. Mr. Venti Cappuccino With Extra Cream took his drink, fingers lightly brushing mine, and brought it to his lips, inhaling deeply first as he pursed his lips to drink.

"Mm. Nice and hot."

I wanted to laugh. There was no way that he could have known what my nick name for the man standing behind him was, but the fact that he said it out loud was enough to get me through the day. He didn't have to understand it, that didn't matter to me, it just made me feel like we shared something.

He slid a ten from his pocket and placed it beneath my numb fingers with a wink. "Keep the change, doll."

Doll? He called me Doll! I felt overpowered and lightheaded all at once as I watched his back recede. He paused at the door and smiled over his shoulder before stepping out into the cold morning air. How extraordinary.

"A-hem!"

I blinked. Mr. This Isn't Hot Enough glowered at me down his long hooked nose, eyes magnified from his great round glasses. I yipped and rung in the ten dollars before I plastered the fake smile to my face and asked him his order as usual. I made his coffee, took his money, rang it in, and watched him head for the door. He paused, just as he was reaching for the handle and dipped his head to take a sip. I shook my head, it never failed.

He turned on his heel and slammed the cup on the counter before me.

"This isn't hot enough." He grumbled.

"Of course its not, sir." I responded and turned to prepare him another cup of coffee.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

"O' Beautiful Stranger"

Sunday comes and the realization that I'm not going to see him today leaves me with a hollowness I've never felt before. How strange, one conversation with the man, and I still don't even know his god damn name, and I'm like a love sick puppy. Its disgusting. I chide myself as I go about my morning ritual; fill the coffee pot with lukewarm water, stare at it for a minute to make sure it turns on, go to the bathroom to brush my teeth, go back to the coffee pot and make sure its _still _on, go to my bedroom and put on some clothes, go back to the kitchen and repeatedly abuse the coffee maker until it continues spewing out coffee, go back to the bathroom and brush out my unruly hair, finally pour myself a cup of _still_ lukewarm coffee and gag at the taste of coffee flavored toothpaste.

I grab my plaid petticoat off the wall mounted hanger before I call a goodbye to my dog and let myself out on the landing of my apartment floor. I look down the hallway to make sure no one is around before I lock the door, a bad habit you get from living in a bad neighborhood for so long. Shoving my keys into my pocket I'm ready to be off when I hear a friendly greeting from a few paces behind me.

The tall blonde grins at me over the mound of heavy looking books in his arms and nods his bleached head in greeting. I smile in return, sticking out my tongue as he falls into step beside me as we approach the elevator. I look at him expectantly, and he glares back with a twitch of an eyebrow.

"If you think I'm going to call the damned thing for you, you've lost your bloody mind."

I chuckle and push the down arrow with my index finger, the chipped black nail polish reminding me that I need to touch them up. "Where you off to with all that junk, Reita?"

He chews the inside of his cheek for a moment before he answers me, the hesitation a bit strange to me for such a simple and innocent question. But who was I to judge, it wasn't like he and I were really good friends or anything. We were simply neighbors, polite when in each others company, but not on 'hey, come on by my place for a movie later!' terms. "Errands."

Errands. Like I expected anything more from him? "Ah. Me too."

"Oh really? Anything important?"

Oh, you can be all mysterious but you expect a detailed synopsis from me? Ha, think again! "Errands."

We watch each other for the space of a breath before we both break out into a grin and step into the opening elevator doors. Riding down together in silence wasn't as awkward as I would have thought, a bit pleasant oddly enough, and he held his booted foot in front of the doors as I stepped through. What a gentleman.

"You know, I'm having this little get together with a few friends of mine on Friday. Like a pre-Christmas party." He said as I opened the main doors for him to pass through first. "I was wondering, we've been neighbors for what," He thought for a minute, mouth moving in silent math, "four years and we've never hung out? Would you want to come by? Its nothing formal or anything… pizza and beer…"

I wasn't getting the 'by a few friends I mean just you and by pizza and beer I mean get in your pants' vibe, and I considered his request with a bit of enthusiasm. What could it hurt? Being a barista was time consuming, I would have to check my schedule tomorrow… "If I get out of work before eleven o'clock at night, sure."

His brows rose nearly to his hairline and he paused on the bottom step of the cement stairs, his eyes only a few centimeters lower than mine as his grin threatened to split his face in two. "Really? I thought you'd almost immediately say no."

"What? Why?" What the hell was that supposed to mean?

"Well, you rarely go out of your way to get to know your neighbors, I would have thought you wouldn't want anything to do with us peons."

I felt a tad defensive. "Well, no one goes out of their way to get to know me either, you know!"

"Liar."

"What?"

"I just invited you to my party, didn't I?" "Four years later!!"

"Better later than never." He turned on his heel and hopped off the last step and called over his shoulder as he loaded up his black Volkswagen's backseat with dusty old books. "Try not to look so frumpy when you come over on Friday, okay? Your hair looks like you shoved a fork in an outlet and couldn't let go. And… no sweats, please? Wear something decently nice too, yeah?"

My jaw hung slack as I watched him climb into the drivers seat and pull out of the drive way. So much for a simple 'casual' get together. I mentally prayed for him to get a flat tire and have to walk with all those heavy books to his destination. Perhaps I would let the air out of his tires tonight… would serve him right the little stuck up son of a--

I took a deep breath. There was no reason getting all flustered over something so stupid. That was the way Reita was, he was kind through his asshole-ish ways. If that made any sense at all. Which of course it didn't. Hmm.

Instinctively my hand shot up to my hair, piled up high on the top of my head in a frizzled frazzled mess of curls and craziness, and attempted to calm the raging beast to perhaps static electricity level rather than a full on fork in an outlet level. There really was no controlling it unless I made sure I used an entire can of hairspray and spent three hours in the bathroom straightening it. But sometimes it was good to go o' natural. Didn't have to worry so much about open flames.

Sometimes.

My bucket of a car sat rusted and sorrowful in its usual spot along the curb, and I debated weather or not I would walk downtown to get myself a real cup of coffee or be a lazy ass and just drive like everyone else. I looked down at my feet, black sneakers glaring back and I figured I had worn them for a reason. The air was just as cold as yesterday, but there was barely a breeze which made being outside in the sunshine refreshing and bearable. Looks like I was hoofing it.

It was only a twenty minute hike before the main downtown strip peeked through the thinning trees and I jogged the last few steps before I let myself into the Starbucks with a huff. I couldn't get away from the place, even when I wasn't working I always came crawling back.

It wasn't busy. Nadine lounged at the counter, a single patron nestled away in a corner with a magazine over their face and a hot steaming cup of something in their hand, Ginger somewhere shouting in the backroom. I smiled at Nadine and she winked at me as I shuffled behind the counter and grabbed myself a Venti cup and started the espresso machine. I looked over my shoulder at Nadine as she casually examined her immaculately manicured nails. She was thin, and pretty, her hair smooth as silk and so blonde it was almost white. On any other person, I knew, it would have looked cheap, but on Nadine it was quite fetching. Her rosebud lips pursed into a pout as she looked at me and pointed her finger to the groaning machine.

"I like you and all, girl, and you know that if I hadn't married my husband that I would definitely give you a shot but pull your pretty little eyes away from my blindingly good looks and take care of that damned mess your making at my machine!"

I jumped, cheeks reddening as I ripped my finger away from the button and jerked my hand away from my cup as blisteringly hot liquid seared my already pink skin. The espresso tottered on the edge of the tray before toppling over and splashing to the tiled floor beneath me. I yelped, my hand in excruciating pain as I hopped away from the machine on instinct, my feet unable to find purchase with all the coffee on the floor and they flew out from under me and I crashed to the ground ungracefully.

There was an audible 'thud' as the back of my head made contact with the floor and my vision momentarily blurred. The hotness along my back was forgotten. The store I was embarrassingly lying in gone. All I could see were two very familiar amber eyes glaring down at me. Wow. When did He get here? I thought He didn't come in on Sundays…

Nadine was screeching in my ear as I blinked, her eyes wide with frantic worry as she worked her arms under my shoulders and helped me to sit up. I winced, her voice sending a streak of pain through my head with each trilling crescendo.

"Holy shite, are you alright?! Natalia! Say something!"

"Nadine, chill… I'm fine, jeeze…"

Nadine cuffed me on the ear, cheeks pink with worry. "Ohmigod, I thought you knocked yourself out you klutz!"

I rubbed the tender spot on the back of my head, wincing at the stabbing pain I was rewarded with. Maybe I should have knocked myself out.

"Should I call an ambulance? Do you have a concussion? Is your brain bleeding?" Nadine squawked on.

"Let's see, Natalia, can you hear me? Can you tell me what my name is?"

That was a new voice. I turned towards it, blurry eyes meeting with warm amber rimmed in charcoal, perfectly smooth bangs and crazy dreadlock hair. His name? Oh, I knew his name.

"Mr. Venti Cappuccino… Extra Cream." I muttered.

He laughed and I immediately flushed. What a laugh he had. "Close enough, but I'll also accept Ruki. I think she'll be okay. Here."

I glared at his hand as he offered it to me, straightening himself to his full height; for a man he was short, only around five foot two, but for a woman I was short too, only about five foot one on a good day. I gripped his hand, praying that my palms weren't sweaty, and allowed him to drag me to my feet. He was surprisingly strong!

"T-Thanks."

I loosened my grip, expecting him to release my hand, but he kept his around mine giving it a reassuring squeeze. "I can take you to the hospital, if you want?"

"Oh! No! I hit my head all the time, its really not that big of a deal."

His brows rose at my comment and I blinked, my head swimming with a warm pleasantness. Nadine was to her feet now too, and she wrung her hands together. "Should I take you home? You want a ride? I don't think that you should just walk out of here on your own, Nat, you hit your head hard!"

What was everyone's deal? I was fine! It wasn't like I was falling to the floor every five seconds! My head swam and I tottered, but Ruki's hand was there to steady me. Ruki? Huh… did he tell me that was his name? I cant remember.

"I can take her home, Nadine. Can you tell me where you live, at least, Nat?"

"Nat?" That was Nadine's voice, right?

"Hey!" Ruki's?

What were they yelling about?

Hmm…

Bah. It didn't really matter at this point. I just feel… so tired.

"Arf! Arf, Arf!"

I snuggled closer under the comforter, the down feathers encasing me in my own body heat, legs curled tight to my chest, arms crossed under my chin, toes wiggling in the pleasant morning ritual of waking. My eyes opened slowly and I blinked, once, twice; nuzzled my face against the blanket to rid my eyes of sleepys before giving a long yawn. My eyes lighted on the single window in my bedroom and nearly moaned out loud. Snow was just beginning to stick to the pane of glass, the grayness that was the sky angrily spewing trillions of fat white flakes to further burrow me inside a prison.

I dreaded the thought of having to lift the blanket to get up, my bladder aching warningly and I tightened my knees to my chest ignoring it. If I fell back asleep, maybe it would go away. The digital clock perched carelessly on my white washed dresser blinked 12:00AM and I frowned, had the power gone out? exhaling I mumbled, groaned, then brought the covers up and over my head.

The squeaky hinges of my door protested as it was forced open, most likely Pepper coming in to check on me. Damn dog. If I feign sleep, maybe she'll just go away.

"Arf!! ARF, ARF, ARF!"

Ignoring her.

"Arf, Woof, Howl!!"

Still ignoring her.

"WOOOOOOOF WOOOOOOOOF! HOOOOOWWWWLLLL!"

For the love of all things unholy and demented!!!

"Pep! Shut the HELL UP!" I bellowed and threw the blankets off of me as I sat up to scold my puppy. Where Pep should have been standing with her tail wagging excitedly were a pair of feet, rather large, toes tapping against my wooden floor. I followed the feet to a pair of legs encased in blue jeans, a torso wrapped in a black cotton tee and a face that I had thought existed only in my dreams. Perhaps I was still dreaming? I had to be, because there was no way that Venti Cappuccino was in my house. No way.

"Not exactly the thank you I was expecting for making sure you got home safe," He began, edges of his mouth twitching upwards ever so slightly, a steaming cup of something resting between his hands. "But I see there was no reason for me to worry. You seem to be alright, your voice is working rather well."

Har har. He was a damn comedian.

"Oi! What's all that yellin'?"

There were other people in my house? What the hell was going on? I looked down, the sweats I had worn out to get myself a coffee were still in place, Phew. Wait a minute, that's right! I had gone out to get something to drink and had hit my head good! And Venti Cappuccino had been there, he had told me his name, Ruki? Was it? … and then I couldn't remember anything else. Had I passed out? A mental image of Ruki carrying me over his shoulder while I drooled like an idiot made me want to disappear into my mattress and never come out.

A blonde head peered around the threshold of my doorway and I instantly recognized my mysterious neighbor.

"Reita? What the HELL are YOU doing in my apartment!" Hysterical. And for no reason. What was my deal?

The fact that I blacked out and couldn't remember a god damned thing maybe?

"Hey! I helped drag your fat ass up here, alright! Maybe you should show a little bit of gratitude!"

"I'm not fat you jerk!"

"Tell that to my arms, I nearly dropped you on your head twice!"

"Its not MY fault you're a little weakling!"

"Well its not MY fault you weight as much as my Jetta!"

Ruki's laughter caused me to choke on my rebuttal and I looked to him, the spitting fight with Reita forgotten. He held a hand over his mouth to hide his smirk, eyebrows nearly as high as his hairline. He looked to Reita and handed the blonde man his cup of steaming liquid. "You weren't kidding when you said you knew her, ne? I didn't think that you two knew each other so well."

"We don't…" I grumbled and swung my legs over the edge of my bed and shivered as they made contact with the icy floorboards. My neck was stiff, my head nearly splitting with each heart beat and I stretched out my limbs quickly before padding around my bed. Reita watched me through narrowed eyes as I stepped close to him and grabbed one of my good porcelain cups from his hands and peered inside. Huh. Looks like one of the bone heads found my stash of tea. I brought the cup to my lips and took a delicate, slurping sip.

"Mm. Delicious." I looked to Ruki. "Thanks for the tea, I feel better already."

"_I _made the tea you ungrateful--" But the rest of his sentence was drowned out by Ruki's laugh as I headed into my living room.

I gave it the once over, making sure that there weren't any other outlandishly good looking men waiting to pop out and give me a heart attack before I allowed my racing heart to settle. Okay. Okay okay okay, so the guy I have been crushing over for months is now in my home (which is a total mess) and my freakishly strange neighbor ( Who I also know NOTHING about) is in my apartment. I can handle this.

"Nat? I--"

"Eep!" I squeaked and gave a start as I turned quickly to face Ruki.

I could tell he was fighting off the urge to laugh at me, and I appreciated his effort to _not_ make this moment any more awkward than it had to be. Reita snickered in the background and I nearly launched myself at him.

I swallowed my heart that had some how made its way into my throat. A thought struck me and I ignored Ruki's question. "What time is it?"

Ruki looked down at the expensive watch on his wrist. "A little past 3AM?"

Oh, was that all. So I had been out all day and all night…? Awesome. "I was out for a while… have you two been here this whole time?"

Ruki nodded, his expression surprised that I had even had to ask. Reita laced his hands behind his head and rolled his eyes. "I told him to dump you at the door and screw, but he insisted that we stay." His eyes darted to the plasma television screen hanging on the wall behind me. "But I have to say, you have a killer tv."

I was both touched and disturbed at the idea of the two of them hanging around my flat waiting for me to wake up out of my stupor, and I wasn't sure which emotion to embrace. For them to treat a complete stranger (for lack of a better expression) with such kindness was heart warming, and even though Reita made jokes he was still here. That counted for something. Though, two random guys in my house wasn't a settling feeling and I wasn't sure that I really liked the idea. I wasn't sure where to go from here.

Ruki's face changed to worry, and I immediately turned on my heel and headed for the kitchen to hide my suddenly burning eyes. I really must have hit my head hard. "Alright boys, what do you want to eat?" It was the least I could do for them. I decided to embrace the first wave of emotions, and counteract their kindness with kindness of my own. And if there was one thing that I knew, it was this. The way into a man's heart is paved with food, television, and beer. I could accommodate all three.

Reita perked up and followed after me, eyes wide with excitement. He reminded me of my dog. "Beef Stir-fry!!"

"Then Stir-fry it is."

When life gives you lemons, pray to God that they don't squirt in your eye.


End file.
